Without the monorail in place, the road network system in Putrajaya is perpetually congested as evident during the morning and evening peak hours.

Perbadanan Putrajaya (PPj) president Tan Sri Samsuddin Osman said the federal administrative capital was planned to rely on public transport as the main means of transportation, of which, the rail-based transport was the backbone.

“PPj aims to revive the monorail project and is pursuing the matter with the Federal Government,” he said, adding that Putrajaya needed the monorail for a number of reasons.

“We have a population of almost 70,000 and more than 40,000 civil servants enter the city to work every day,’’ said Samsuddin.

Since the project was abandoned, many questioned the existence of a ninth bridge in Precinct 4 although Putrajaya has only eight.

Apparently the structure was intended for the monorail project.

Samsuddin added the provision of the monorail service was very much in line with the Government’s aspiration for Putrajaya to become a pioneer green city in Malaysia.

“The lesser the use of private vehicle, the lesser the carbon emission. With the monorail service, there will be a better control on private vehicles,’’ added Samsuddin.

Described as the missing link in the developing public transport network in Putrajaya, the project has been hanging in the balance since 2004 when it hit a snag due to federal budget constraints.

However, the recent controversy on the Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) system and the extension of the Light Rail Transport (LRT) system, brought to light the importance of a monorail system.

Samsuddin said this would contribute towards attracting visitors, tourists and more importantly, commercial and private investments to make Putrajaya a more vibrant place.

The network blueprint comprised two monorail lines, 13.2km for Line 1 and 6.8km for Line 2 but only Phase 1 is ready with a 9km track and a 4km underground tunnel with seven stops is.

Line 1 was supposed to serve Precinct 9 and 7 crossing the lake to the Core Island (Precincts 4,3,2 and 1) and to the West until Precincts 15 and 14.

Samsuddin added that if the project was in place, Line 1 and Line 2 would be served by 18 and seven stations respectively, with Station Seven in Precinct 4 as an interchange station for the two lines.

“Stations would be strategically located to serve residential areas, Governemnt as well as private offices with intervals of not more than 500 meters,’’ said Samsuddin.

The monorail was also meant to integrate with the Express Rail Link (ERL) service running from KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur to the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.

Samsuddin said since the population was increasing, the monorail was pertinent in overcoming the traffic congestion during peak hours.